Photo by Issei.F
In the past, we’ve featured a number of articles on breaking into the field of translation or interpretation, and an important part of any career course in these areas is being aware of organizations and events relevant to that work.
Regardless of language, being a part of the community, aware of necessary qualifications and ethical guidelines, sharing resources, etc. are important ways to participate in and learn from the field. Here we list a variety of resources in translation and interpretation, including organizations, conferences, certifications, and more.
In alphabetical order:
- About Translation Blog
- The American Association of Language Specialists (TAALS)
- American Association of Teachers of Japanese (AATJ) List of Translation and Interpretation Courses
- American Literary Translators Association (ALTA)
- American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM)
- American Translation and Interpreting Studies Association (ATISM)
- American Translators Association (ATA)
- Asia-Pacific Association for Machine Translation (AAMT)
- The Association of Language Companies (ALC)
- Certification Commission for Healthcare Interpreters (CCHI)
- Cool Japan / Creative Industries Policy
- Foreign Languages Interpreting Certificate Association (FLICA)
- GALA – Globalization and Localization Association
- Interagency Language Roundtable (ILR)
- International Association of Conference Interpreters
- International Association of Conference Translators
- International Association of Professional Translators and Interpreters (IAPTI)
- International Association for Translation & Intercultural Studies (IATIS)
- International Federation of Translators (IFT)
- International Medical Interpreters Association (IMIA)
- International Medical Interpreters and Translators Association (IMEDIATA)
- InterpretAmerica
- InTranslation
- IT Software Translator Certification Association
- Japan Association of Conference Interpreters
- Japan Association for Health Care Interpreting in Japanese and English (J.E.)
- Japan Association for Interpretation & Translation Studies (JAITS)
- Japanese Association of Sign Language Interpreters (JASLI)
- Japan Association of Translators
- Japan Interpreters‘ Association (JIPTA)
- The Japanese Literature Publishing Project
- Japan Translation Association
- Japan Translation Federation
- National Association of the Deaf (NAD)
- National Association of Judiciary Interpreters and Translators (NAJIT)
- National Council of Professional Translators
- New England Translators Association
- New York Circle of Translators
- Nippon Intellectual Property Translation Association (NIPTA)
- Northern California Translators Association
- Medical Interpreters & Translators Association (MITA)
- Medical Interpreting Association of Japan (MIAJ)
- Proz
- Registry of Interpreters for the Deaf (RID)
- Society of Writers, Editors and Translators
- Three Percent
- Tomedes [lists a variety of conferences in translation]
Tofugu has also put out a really good guide to the fundamentals of the translation industry, starting from various skill levels, which can be found here.
More resources to add? Leave them in a comment or send them to us at shinpai.deshou@gmail.com!
What can I do with a B.A. in Japanese Studies? 
I’m a student at the Middlebury Institute of International Studies, which has a Master’s degree program in Translation and Interpretation. Because of Covid, classes are now on a fully hybrid set up, which means you can get your degree completely online. Also, if you were on the JET Program, you get a guaranteed scholarship.
Other resources I’d suggest are Translators without Borders and a subscription to Multilingual Magazine